Faunce appointed to Macomb circuit court

Gov. Rick Snyder today announced the appointments of Judge Jennifer Faunce of Warren to the 16th Circuit Court bench in Macomb County, and Brian Kirkham, of Battle Creek, as judge of the 37th Circuit Court in Calhoun County.

“Jennifer and Brian have served their communities with distinction for many years, and I am confident that experience will serve them and the residents of Macomb and Calhoun counties well in these judgeships,” Snyder said.

Faunce, currently a judge for the 37th District Court in Warren, fills the vacancy created when state Supreme Court Justice David Viviano was appointed last February.

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She previously served as a state representative in the 29th District from 1999 to 2003, and chaired the House Criminal Justice Committee. She also served as an assistant prosecutor for the Macomb County Juvenile Court from 1995 to 1999.

Faunce is active in the legal community, serving as a member of the Michigan Bar Association, the Macomb County Bar Association, and the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan. She also is involved with a number of community organizations, including the Care House Board of Directors, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Macomb County, and the March of Dimes. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Detroit.

Faunce must seek election in November 2014 to serve out the remaining four years of Viviano’s term.

Kirkham, who replaces Judge Allen Garbrecht, has served as an attorney in private practice for 30 years, focusing on estates, wills and trusts, probate, domestic relations, bankruptcy, personal injury and general litigation. He was elected to two terms as mayor of Battle Creek from 2001 to 2003, and served as a city commissioner for three terms beginning in 1997. He previously worked as a law clerk and helped run his family’s restaurant, the Spa Steak House, in Battle Creek.

Kirkham is a member of the Calhoun County Bar Association, the WK Kellogg Airport Advisory Committee, the Calhoun County Estate Planners Committee, and is past president of the Battle Creek Area America Business Clubs and Heritage Battle Creek Board. He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University and a degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Kirkham must seek election in November 2014 to serve out the remaining two years of Garbrecht’s term.